Have a Little Faith

Dear John,

“Have a little faith” is an expression often used in a light way, perhaps by those who are trying to prove themselves to you. But in fact, true faith is the bedrock of both spiritual success and the ability to withstand the storms and trials of life.

How many times do we despair when we encounter difficulties? Often we are faced with a choice: worry and anxiety on one hand, or acceptance and faith on the other. Faith is especially important when facing situations—like a pandemic or political conflict—over which we have no control.

There is a fascinating passage in Autobiography of a Yogi: “[Babaji] is in constant communion with Christ; together they send out vibrations of redemption, and have planned the spiritual technique of salvation for this age. The work of these two fully-illumined masters—one with the body, and one without it—is to inspire the nations to forsake suicidal wars, race hatreds, religious sectarianism, and the boomerang-evils of materialism. Babaji is well aware of the trend of modern times, especially of the influence and complexities of Western civilization, and realizes the necessity of spreading the self-liberations of yoga equally in the West and in the East.”

This world is in the hands of God and the great ones, and we suffer needlessly when we forget this. One time, as Swami Kriyananda was preparing to leave India, one of the leaders asked him, “How can we carry on without you?” His reply was both profound and comforting, something we can all keep in mind: “Remember, this work is not your work. It is not my work. It is the work of Babaji and Master.”

One time some disciples begged Anandamayee Ma to do something to alleviate the turmoil and suffering caused by the partition that followed Indian independence. After a long period of meditation, Ma said simply, “Don’t you think that He who created this world knows how to run it?”

Patanjali said that faith is a foremost pathway to Self-realization. Swami Kriyananda further explains that “faith means far more than belief. . . . Belief on the spiritual path is important, for without it one will not even follow the path. Faith, however, depends on results; the greater the results, the greater the faith. As success in any scientific effort demands also devotion to the goal, so, the greater the faith, the greater also the devotion (in this case, to the goal of oneness with God).”

How do we develop faith? Here are three things that will help:

1) Accept that it will take time and effort for your belief to mature into the kind of successful results that produce faith. We are all works in progress.

2) Include God and Gurus in this effort. Ask Master and Divine Mother to strengthen your faith, and you will add their limitless power to your own.

3) Offer all your problems and anxieties, your hopes and dreams, at the feet of Divine Mother. Do this especially toward the end of your meditation. Feel that you are not a separate entity, but just a drop in the ocean of all that is.

A recent psychological study concluded that there is one single best way to stop anxiety in its tracks. It suggests that, whenever the mind starts to worry, one should repeat a simple key word or short phrase, rather like a mantra. Something like, “relax” or “be calm.” I suggest that we add another to the list: “Have a little faith.”

In the Divine,

Nayaswami Jyotish